This was just after the West Indies had been dismissed for a dismal 54 in a One-Day International in South Africa. I doubt Lara would have imagined that his words would come back to haunt him, and so soon.

Surely 47 all out in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test match against England must be worse than anything the West Indies have endured? Incidentally it was England's revenge for their 45 all out score in Trinidad and Tobago in 1994, courtesy of especially Curtly Ambrose.

The young Barbadian fast bowlers, Tino Best and Fidel Edwards excited, extended and bowled quickly. Both are special and the time will come when they will conquer. The euphoria they brought to the populace at Sabina Park and the fear they must have put in many a batsman the world over was interesting and enthralling at the same time.

Yet, with such positives, I still remember vividly the Test match at the recent turn of the new century, in New Zealand, when the West Indies were 282 for one at the end of the 1st day, only to lose the game with a day to spare, after the rain had taken away another one, the West Indies making 90 in the 2nd innings. Of that 90, Ricardo Powell made 30, the highest score of the innings, in his first and so far only Test. He was promptly dropped.

Somehow, that New Zealand game still ranks in my mind as the worse recent West Indian debacle. My embarrassment was complete when the then CEO of New Zealand's cricket, Chris Doig, suggested, in all sincerity that "the world needs a strong West Indies cricket team!!" New Zealand too?

Most in the Caribbean seem to remember the 51 at the Queens Park Oval when the Australians last toured the Caribbean. Strangely, on that same tour, almost the same players of the West Indies team made a colossal 418 runs to win the final Test, a new world record for runs made in the 2nd innings; astoundingly bizarre, to say the least.

Even before that, many nearly died when the West Indies were removed for 54 at Lords, in London, in 2000. If there ever was Caribbean solidarity, it showed that day. There were at least three Caribbean Prime Ministers in attendance, all crying and trying to stave off heart attacks; all asking the same question: "What the hell happened out there today?"

Unfortunately, there have been too many "todays" recently for West Indies cricket.

Now we come to the English bowling the West Indies out for 47 at Sabina Park. For someone born on March 15 (the Ides of March), I can tell you that the death of Julius Caesar on that day could not have been more heart-breaking or mind numbing for the Romans, than 47 all out was for me, as a birthday present, and for the tens of thousands of the Caribbean who really want to believe "the West Indies are turning a corner."

There has got to be something seriously wrong with this situation. The present Manager of the team, Ricky Skerritt, probably says it best. "Whatever the result, at least the cricket played by the West Indies is exciting." That is an understatement, but no West Indian supporter needs or wants this type of excitement.

The recent results are confusing, debilitating and perhaps even deadly, for only stout hearts could withstand the palpitations that come each time the West Indies cricket team plays.

Could you imagine how many housewives in Barbados would have prepared their 'coo coo and flying fish (or salt fish)' early last Sunday so that their husbands could hang-out with their friends, look and listen to the cricket, and have serious arguments along the way? Many a 'beach lime', with all of the "Sunday Food", would have been contemplated in Trinidad and Tobago, while the cricket was on and the hopes were high. After that 47 all out, indigestion and even diarrhoea must have been rampant.

I am of the firm opinion that at the highest level of any sport, each player's ability matters little, for most at that level are at about the same level of ability anyway. Of course there are exceptions; Brian Lara, Michael Jordan, Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Schumaker and a few others. However, apart from the fact that these and a few others are almost always near or at the top of their game, I am sure the psychological requirement of each player is different.

Sports Psychology has become a profession in itself, but no one in the Caribbean seems to take it seriously. There is nothing that could convince me that the West Indies cricket team does not need help in the thought processes of the game.

At 21 for five, it seemed as if the remaining batsmen were just waiting to lie down, die and get the situation over with as quickly as possible.

What about the thought of perhaps a lead of 75-100, certainly not enough, but at least for pride's sake, something to work with? No such luck.

As with the last Test at Super-Sport Centurion in South Africa, it was equally embarrassing to witness the end of the 1st Test at Sabina. How does one reconcile with Ryan Hinds opening the bowling for the West Indies, even if England required only two runs? For too long now, since 1995, we in the Caribbean have been hearing from the West Indies cricket team that "we shall regroup", or "we are turning the corner", or that "we must be more consistent", or that "we are not playing up to our potential." I wonder how many people realize that almost all of our famous, positive cricket legacies are now distant memories, while the excuses and downright ineptitude continue.

Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have beaten the West Indies at home very recently; India and Pakistan just failed to follow suit. Australia, Pakistan, England, New Zealand and South Africa have beaten us away from home recently.

The West Indies are only rated just above Zimbabwe, who nearly beat us a few months ago, and Bangladesh. Yet no one in authority seems to care. We are just going along our merry way to oblivion with great alacrity.

The confusion for the West Indies supporter is complete, the embarrassment rampant, the misgivings and total astonishment beyond belief. It is one thing to ask the supporters to "rally around the West Indies."

It is altogether something else to give them something to really rally around or with. It is now too much for most to bear. One could only hope, but something has got to change.